Fight for Phantom
by X-Chick303
Summary: After getting into a stupid argument with Tucker and Sam, Danny is captured by a ghost named Lanista who wants to use him in his gladiator games. Can Sam and Tucker forgive and save their friend before he's lost forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Danny Phantom is what I'm in the mood for, so a story it shall be! (BTW, the title is a p****arody of a gladiator book called "Fight for Freedom.") This story takes place sometime after "Urban Jungle, but before "Phantom Planet." Enjoy!**

The Box Ghost flew frantically through the Ghost Zone, trying to get away from whatever was chasing him.

"You cannot capture me, mysterious pursuer! I am the master of all things cardboard and square! For I am the-"

Before he could finish his usual rant, a spear narrowly missed his head and impaled itself on a nearby rock.

"Uh..." He couldn't think of anything mildly threatening to say, so he went for his fail-safe. "BEWARE!"

He continued to fly, but thrown bolas wrapped around his body, promptly hog-tying him. He crash-landed on one of the many floating islands in the Zone.

His pursuer landed next to him. It was a ghostly woman wearing an eyepatch and Roman armor, with blue skin and black hair.

"Lord Lanista, is this ghost suitable for your arena?" she said.

A skinny ghost man, Lanista, floated down next to her. He had green skin and slicked-back black hair. He was wearing a roman toga and laurel wreath.

He bent over the Box Ghost and examined him. "Hmm. Small, useless powers..." He sniffed. "And he reeks of an inferiority complex."

"THAT WAS NEVER PROVEN!" Box Ghost argued.

"He wouldn't even make good feed for the lions," Lanista went on, sighing. "Lobelia, release him."

Lobelia sighed and did so. Now freed, TBG shouted, "You are lucky that I have decided to spare you! You would not wish to feel the vengeful wrath of the Box-"

Lobelia blasted him with a ghost ray, sending him flying.

"This is getting us nowhere," Lanista said, pacing. "I need new warriors, but all you keep capturing are weaklings and the occasional crazy. If we don't find some new talent soon, I might have to send_ you_ back into the arena, Lobelia."

He laughed at this idea, and Lobelia crossed her arms, unamused.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked, arms still crossed.

"Did it bother you?"

"Yes, it did."

"Then it was necessary," Lanista said happily. Then he got serious. "But we still need to find a warrior. Somebody strong, able, tough, and good at witty banter. Somebody like..."

He was interrupted, by somebody flying really fast over their heads. He and Lobelia turned and saw it was a ghost boy with white hair, being chased a ghost in metal armor.

"C'mon, Skulker!" the boy shouted. "This is like, what, the third time you've tried to hunt me this week? Take a hint!"

"It's the fourth time, and no, I will not stop!" Skulker shouted. "Not until your pelt is on my wall!"

"Dude, you seriously need a better threat. The pelt thing is more gross than threatening." The boy stopped and fired a ghost ray at Skulker, but Skulker deflected it with a shield. Skulker then fired several mini-rockets.

The boy twisted his body into interesting shapes to avoid being hit, even going as far as to make a huge hole in his stomach. "What you need is a new hobby. Have you tried stamp collecting? How about crochet? Ooh, maybe you could follow my suggestion and just get a lonely-guy cat!"

"For the last time, I AM NOT GETTING A CAT!" Skulker hollered. He then fired a huge energy cannon, which hit the boy right in the gut. He ended up crashing into a swampy floating island. Wanting to see how the fight ended, Lanista and Lobelia followed Skulker to the island.

The boy laid on the swampy ground, clearly unconscious. Skulker landed and picked the boy up by his hair.

"Finally," Skulker grinned. He pulled out a glowing blade. "What's the matter, ghost child? No witty insult?"

Then, all of a sudden, the boy's eyes snapped opened, only they were glowing bright blue. He stuck out his hands, which emitted a blue ray and in under a second, Skulker was trapped in a block of ice.

"No insult, but I'm sure there's an ice pun in there somewhere," the boy quipped while dusting off his hands. "Now, I would put you in the Fenton Thermos, but considering we're already in the Ghost Zone, it'd be redundant."

The boy flew upward, looking tired, but pleased with himself. "Stay cool, Skulker!" He paused for a moment. "Hey, an ice pun!"

Once the ghost boy was out of sight, Lanista declared, "Somebody like him!"

"Who? The incompetent hunter?" Lobelia asked.

"No, the ghost boy! He was strong, able, tough, and had excellent banter!" Lanista said excitedly. "I must have him for my arena!"

He flew over to Skulker. "Who was that ghost?"

Skulker, being frozen, didn't say anything.

"Sir, he's still frozen," Lobelia pointed out.

"I knew that," Lanista said, then used a ghost ray to thaw Skulker out. He picked him up by the armor. "Who was that ghost?"

Shivering from being frozen, Skulker replied, "T-that was t-the g-ghost child, D-Danny P-Phantom."

"Danny Phantom," Lanista repeated, trying the name out. "Interesting. Do you know where he resides?"

"In the human w-world, in a town called A-Amity Park," Skulker answered.

Lanista, having the information he needed, tossed Skulker aside. "Come, Lobelia. We must travel to this 'Amity Park' and make Danny Phantom my newest gladiator... whether he wants to or not."

_**(End Opener)**_

* * *

_**Fight for Phantom  
Title Screen Caption: A battle for your AFTERLIFE!  
(The screen card itself is Danny wearing weird armor (to be described later in the story), his eyes glowing red and looking triumphant. He is **__**holding up a sword and planting his foot on the backs of Tucker and Sam, who are unconscious and lying on top of each other. In the background is a giant version of a smiling Lanista, who is in the same position as Danny.)**_

* * *

"Whoa, Danny. You look like the living dead," Sam said. Remembering that Danny technically _was_ the living dead, she added, "Well, more so than usual."

It was at school the next day. Danny had just met up with Tucker and Sam outside of the school entrance. And with the bags underneath his eyes and tired expression, Danny _did_ look like the living dead.

Danny yawned. "Skulker came after me last night. I didn't get back into bed until 5 in the morning."

"Again?" Tucker asked. "This is like, what, the third time he's come after you this week?"

"Fourth, but who's counting?" Danny replied. "All that matters is the last time I saw him, he was Skulk-sicle in the middle of the Ghost Zone. Hopefully, this time he'll stay that way."

"With your luck? Doubtful," Sam said, ever being the pessimistic one.

As they walked into the school, the first thing they noticed was that most of the jocks were pummeling the nerds a little harder than usual. Instead of the usual bullying techniques, they were using body slams and nelson-holds. It was weird.

"What's going on?" Sam asked no one in particular. "You can practically smell the testosterone in here."

Mikey ran up to them, looking frantic. "Run for your lives! We've reached the wrestling unit in gym!" He proceeded to scream like a girl and continue running for his life.

Tucker and Danny now looked extremely worried.

"Wrestling? Is that what all the fuss is about?" Sam asked.

"Sam, don't even joke about this!" Danny said in a serious tone.

"The wrestling unit is when the jocks go back to their primal instincts, and beat the snot out of helpless nerds!" Tucker explained, speaking in a panicky voice. "So in a nutshell, me and Danny are doomed."

"How come I've never heard of this before?" Sam asked.

"Because when boys go into wrestling, the girls usually start ballet," Danny replied. "So, you're exempt from the pain."

"B-ballet?" Sam stuttered. She then fell to her knees, threw her arms up in the air, and shouted, "_NOOOOO_!"

* * *

_(Scene cuts to school gym)_

Tetslaff paced up and down the line of students.

"Students. As of today, your lives have become 20% more difficult. Ballet will teach the girls grace and poise, but grace and poise can only be achieved through pain. Wrestling will teach you boys how to be men, but becoming men can only be achieved through even more pain!" Tetslaff explained.

As Tetslaff rattled on, Danny and his friends stood in mortal fear.

"Pain and even more pain?" Tucker said, nervous. "You know, this is why I'm a techno-geek. We avoid things that cause pain." Tucker noticed that Sam had an expression that could only be described as 'ready-to-hyperventilate.' "Hey, Sam, are you okay? You look like you're ready to hurl."

"Oh, that's right. You don't know," Danny realized.

"Don't tell him!" Sam shouted, breaking out of her panic-trance.

"Back in kindergarten, Sam's mom tried to make her take a ballet class. The first class led to the FBI."

"FBI?" Tucker asked, confused.

"Freak Ballet Incident," Danny clarified.

"I told you that in confidence, you jerk!" Sam shouted, annoyed.

"Freak Ballet Incident, huh?" Tucker wondered, interested. "What happened?"

Sam didn't answer. Instead, she gained an expression of pure horror and her left eye began to twitch.

Tucker was now even more confused.

"Truth be told, _I_ don't even know what happened. Whenever someone asks, she gets like _that_," Danny explained, referring to the look on Sam's face.

"Pay attention, maggots!" Tetslaff shouted, bringing the kids to attention.

"Ms. Tetslaff, will you be teaching the girls ballet?" Paulina asked.

Tetslaff laughed as if she had just heard the funniest joke ever. "Don't be ridiculous! I'll be teaching the boys wrestling." To emphasize her point, she cracked her knuckles.

The boys all gulped.

"Then, who'll be teaching us?" Paulina asked, afraid of the answer.

"Since I'm only one person, another teacher has offered to teach the girls ballet."

Tetslaff gestured to the door, and who else ballet-leaped in but Mr Lancer. In tights.

"Who wants to become a swan?" Lancer said enthusiastically.

Sam was no longer the only who looked ready to hurl. The rest of the class had joined in.

"I fight ghosts on a regular basis, but that has to be the scariest thing I've ever scene," Danny commented.

"Children, get with your partners and let the learning begin!" Lancer announced, then pirouetted away.

"Partners? I didn't know we were supposed to have partners," Sam said.

"Tetslaff must've said them while we were talking," Danny theorized. "I wonder who we got."

"Hey, Foley!" said the unmistakably obnoxious voice of Dash Baxter. He jogged over to the trio. "As much as I would love to wail on Fenton-io, looks like I'll have to settle for you, 'partner.' I can't wait to try out my new moves... on your spine!"

He walked away laughing. Then Paulina walked up.

"Hey Sam! I still find you an anti-social loser, but I'm taking this opportunity of having you as my partner and try to convert you!"

Paulina skipped away, and now Sam and Tucker looked ready to pass out from despair.

"Well, if we have to suffer, at least we're suffering together," Sam said with a weak smile, putting her arms around the boys' shoulders.

Then, as if on cue, bluish-white mist curled from Danny's mouth. His ghost sense.

"YES!" he shouted a little too happily. He immediately went intangible, and flew through the nearest wall, leaving his friends behind.

"Danny, NO!" the two shouted at the same time. They pounded on the wall. "TAKE US WITH YOU!"

* * *

Danny, now in ghost form, flew into the sky above the school and looked around. "Okay, if this is Skulker attacking for the_ fifth_ time... thank you! I rather fight you a hundred times over than see Lancer in tights a minute longer."

A few more minutes later, still no sign of any ghosts.

"Hmm," Danny wondered. He landed on the ground. "Things look pretty okay to me. It must've been a fluke."

Of course, his ghost sense went off to prove him wrong. Danny heard a roar, and turned to see a ghost lion.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" he said to himself.

The lion attempted to tackle him, but Danny quickly went intangible.

"Whoa, easy there, Simba! I like my head where it is!"

The lion wasn't one for conversation. It roared again, then its fangs grew to the length of steak knives. This time, it succeeded in tackled Danny, and it took all of his strength to keep from getting mauled.

"You know, I was never really one for cats," Danny said, struggling. "I've always been more of a dog person!"

On the word "person", Danny fired a ghost ray from both hands, which sent the lion flying. Once he composed himself, he flew after it. As far as he could tell, it had landed in the park.

He looked all over, calling, "Here kitty!"

After ten minutes of searching, Danny had no results.

"Looks like it split," Danny muttered to himself. "Oh well, I'd better get back to school." Unfortunately, that idea made him feel sick. "Then again, it wouldn't hurt to patrol the city, and see if any other ghost zoo animals on the loose."

He flew off to do just that. Once he was gone, Lobelia stepped out of the shadows, and whistled. The ghost lion appeared at her side, and she scratched under its chin.

"Thank you, my pet," she said. "Now that I know how he fights, it'll be all the more easy to defeat him."

* * *

Much later, Danny finally arrived back home. He remembered to turn back into human form before he entered the house.

"Well, it was a long day, but I didn't find the ghost lion or any other animals," he said as he walked inside. His sister was waiting for him in the living room.

"Hey, Jazz," he greeted.

"Hi, Danny," she greeted back. "Your friends are up in your room. And they didn't look too happy."

Danny walked up the stairs to his room and walked in.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I- OH MY GOSH!"

Sam and Tucker both had bruises all over their bodies, and did look unhappy. Sam, who was sitting on Danny's bed, had stuck her feet into buckets of ice, while Tucker was rubbing ointment all over his injuries.

"Do I want to know what happened to you two?" Danny asked.

"It doesn't matter if you want to know or not, we're telling you!" Sam barked angrily.

"And FYI, we covered for you in school," Tucker added, also angry. "We told Lancer and Tetslaff that you ate the mystery meatloaf at lunch. They didn't ask too many questions."

"As for what happened to us, I practically killed my feet to perform the 'perfect pirouette'," Sam went on. "Paulina is the gym partner from-"

"Dash did exactly what he said he'd do, Tucker thankfully interrupted. "Practiced all his new moves... on my spine."

Danny looked sheepish. "Listen, I am sorry. But there was this ghost lion-"

"Sorry? SORRY? Sorry doesn't begin to cover it!" Sam shouted.

"You totally abandoned us back there, man!" Tucker agreed. "You knew we didn't want go through it alone, but you didn't care. Not all of us have ghost powers, you know!"

"I'm sorry, okay! I guess I was so relieved to have an excuse to leave, I forgot about you two," Danny attempted to explain. It didn't work.

"Yeah, Danny. Thanks for forgetting your _friends_," Sam grumbled sarcastically.

"Well, maybe my _friends_ should just get over it," Danny retorted. "What's happened, happened. There's no changing it."

"Well, maybe your_ friends_ should just leave!" Tucker retorted back.

"Maybe they should!"

"Fine!" Tucker and Sam shouted in unison.

"Fine!" Danny shouted back.

Tucker and Sam both got up and stormed out of the room. (Well, it was little harder for Sam, considering she still had the buckets on her feet, but you get the idea.)

Danny stood there fuming for a moment, then gained a sad look after he realized that he had just gotten into an arguement with his two best friends.

"Way to go, Fenton," he said to himself. "Way to go."

* * *

"It's not as simple as apologizing, Jazz," Danny said into his comm-link. "I think I really hurt them this time. Both figuratively, and possibly literally."

It was later that night. Danny patrolled the city from the sky, while Jazz did it from the ground on her motor scooter.

"They're your friends, Danny," Jazz replied. "If they really care, they'll accept an apology."

Danny landed next to her. "You really think so?"

Jazz stopped her scooter and took off her helmet. "Have I ever lied to you, little brother?"

Danny was about to answer, when Jazz said, "Don't answer that."

They two laughed, but it stopped short when mist pooled out of Danny's mouth.

"Uh oh," he said. "This can't be-"

He was cut off by a ghost ray blasting past him, hitting Jazz and sending her crashing into a nearby wall. She screamed in pain.

"Jazz!" he shouted. Before he even had time to react further, somebody jabbed a staff into his back, sending several hundred volts of electricity coursing through his body. He screamed in pure agony, but the torture didn't stop for a least a full two minutes.

Once it did stop, he fell forward and reverted back to human form, unconscious.

His attackers were none other than Lobelia and Lanista, who both looked a little surprised.

"The ghost boy is also a human?" Lanista said in shock. He looked at Lobelia. "Is that even possible?"

"Apparently, it is," Lobelia said, kneeling down and tying up Danny's feet and hands.

"Interesting," Lanista muttered to himself. "Very interesting. The boy is more of a prize than I thought."

Lobelia hefted Danny up and threw him over her shoulder. "My lord?"

Lanista snapped to attention. "Let us go, Lobelia. We have a tournament to prepare for."

As they had been talking, Jazz was still partially conscious on the ground.

"Danny... no...", she tried to call out, but she was too weak.

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was these two ghosts flying off with her brother. And there was nothing she could do about it.

**_(End Part 1)_**

**Woo, I left Danny in quite a tough spot, didn't I? Will he be okay? Will_ Jazz_ be okay? Will Tucker and Sam find about Danny and forgive him before it's too late? Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, not me.**

"I wonder where Danny is," Sam wondered aloud as she stretched for her (shudder) ballet lesson.

It was the next afternoon, during gym class. Sam and Tucker had noticed that Danny had been absent that day.

"He's probably skipping, so he can avoid the horror that is wrestling," Tucker guessed.

Sam stopped stretching and growled. "Danny can be such a jerk."

"Attention students!" Tetslaff shouted. When nobody listened to her, she screamed, "SHUT IT!"

That got their attention. Once everybody was quiet, Tetslaff said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news. As of last night, Danny Fenton has gone missing."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other worriedly.

"His current whereabouts are unknown, but his sister was found this morning, unconscious on a street corner. If anyone knows anything on where he might be, please give the information to his parents," Tetslaff went on. "Now, time for wrestling and ballet demonstrations. Sanchez and Manson, Baxter and Foley, you're up first."

"Uh, coach?" Dash asked.

"Yes, Baxter?"

"Foley isn't here."

"Neither is Sam!" Paulina added.

Tetslaff scratched her head in confusion. "That's strange. They were here a minute ago. Where could they have gone?"

* * *

"We're going to be in so much trouble," Tucker said as he and Sam ran down the sidewalk, making their way to Fenton Works.

"Never mind that, Tucker," Sam scolded him. "If Danny disappeared last night, it would've been during one of his patrols. He could've been captured by one of his ghost enemies, or worse!"

Tucker stopped running. "Wait, why are we helping him? I thought we were mad at him."

Sam stopped running as well. "We _are_ mad at him. But Danny is still our friend, and if he needs help, we're going to help him. If anything bad has happened... well, it's makes me feel guilty about last night."

"Yeah, you were being kind of a jerk," Tucker noted.

"I meant both of us, Tuck."

"Are you sure? Cause I'm pretty sure that was all you back then."

"Oh, forget it!" Sam shouted. She grabbed Tucker's wrist and went back to running. "We need to get to Danny's house!"

So, they continued to dash to Fenton Works, and this time they didn't stop running until they got there. Sam had barely knocked on the front door once when it burst open, slamming into them and sending them tumbling down the stairs.

"Danny!" Maddie and Jack Fenton yelled, hoping to find their son standing there. To their disappointment, he wasn't.

"Aw, it's not Danny. It's just those two kids he hangs out with," Jack said sadly.

"Tucker, Sam, what are you doing here?" Maddie asked. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"We were, but when we heard about Danny, we rushed over to see if we could help," Tucker explained.

"What have you guys found out so far?" Sam asked as the couple let them inside the house.

"Well, our scanners showed that the area where we found Jasmine was lousy with ecto-energy," Jack said in a dangerous tone. "If it turns out a ghost kidnapped my son, I'll tear it apart molecule by molecule!"

Tucker and Sam looked at each other uneasily. They forgot how protective Jack got when his family was threatened.

"Where's Jazz? Maybe she knows something about what happened," Tucker asked, wanting to change the subject.

"We put her in her room, but she hasn't regained consciousness. She won't be much help," Maddie explained, sounding a little depressed.

"Then we have nothing to lose by trying," reasoned Sam.

Sam and Tucker went up the stairs, with Maddie calling up after them, "If she wakes up, be sure to tell us!"

Once they were out of earshot, Tucker said, "Wow, Mr. and Mrs. F were acting really weird back there... well, weirder than usual."

"Can you blame them?" Sam said. "One of their kids is seriously injured, while the other has gone missing. You'd act weird too."

The duo entered Jazz's room, and sure enough, she was lying on her bed, still unconscious. An ace bandage was wrapped around her head.

Tucker walked up to her and started nudging her shoulder. "Jazz, wake up."

When that didn't work, Sam decided to use the fail-safe wake up method; she dumped a glass of water on her.

Jazz woke with a start. "Huh? What happened?"

"You tell us," Tucker said. "You've been out for a week."

"A week!" Jazz said in alarm and sat straight up. This was a mistake, since she was still recovering from the ghost ray. She slowly laid back down.

"Nah, just kidding," Tucker said. "It's only been a day." When Sam glared at him, he said, "What? I couldn't resist."

"Tucker's jerkiness aside," Sam went on. "What happened last night? Where's Danny?"

Jazz tried to remember. "Last night? That's easy. Danny and I were-" She gasped in realization. "Oh my gosh, DANNY!"

* * *

_Uh... my head_, Danny thought. _I feel like I got hit by several hundred volts of electricity... oh wait, that actually happened_.

His vision cleared up, and he could see that he was a in a small torch-lit room. (Granted, the torch flames were green, so that was a little weird.)

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud. "It looks like the basement of a Medieval Times restaurant."

Danny tried to stand up, but he noticed that thick glowing chains around his body kept him on his knees. The chains led to shackles around his ankles, wrists, and neck.

"Okay... this is weird." Danny attempted to phase through the chains, but the attempt was futile.

"Great. One minute I'm on patrol, the next Jazz and I are- oh my gosh, Jazz!" Danny suddenly remembered. "She got blasted! If she isn't okay, I swear I'm going to-"

He was interrupted by the sound of hydraulics whirring. Danny realized that he wasn't kneeling on a floor, but a platform. The platform rose, and a section of the ceiling slid out.

"You have got to be kidding me," Danny muttered once he saw where he was.

He was clearly in the Ghost Zone, there was no mistaking that. But he was in a giant amphitheater, like the Coliseum in Rome. Ghosts filled the stands, cheering and screaming in excitement.

On the balcony in front of Danny, Lanista stepped out and addressed his crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a new warrior has joined my humble arena," he said proudly. "The ghost boy, Danny Phantom!"

The crowd cheered even louder. Danny was incredibly famous.

"Who are you?" Danny shouted at Lanista. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Wow, you do have poor listening skills," Lanista muttered. "I am Lanista, the owner of this amphitheater. I entertain the masses of the Ghost Zone with my gladiators. You were brought here to participate in my fights. It's a great honor."

Danny glared at this weaselly man. "And what if I don't_ want_ this 'great honor'?"

Lanista chuckled. "That's cute. You think you have a choice."

He snapped his fingers, and Danny's chains fell off. This gave Danny the chance to stretch out and get a better look at his surroundings.

"Uh, I slept through most of my history classes, but didn't most of the gladiators... I don't know, _die_?" Danny asked, rubbing his sore wrists.

"Considering we're all _ghosts_, we usually don't have to worry about that," Lanista said dryly. He cleared his throat and announced, "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Danny Phantom will face my greatest gladiator! "

On the other side of the amphitheater, a gate slid up, and who stepped out was none other than Lobelia. In one hand she carried a glowing bolas, and in the other she carried a glowing sword.

"Prepare to taste my blade, ghost child!" Lobelia challenged.

"Pass," Danny said. "I don't need_ that_ much iron in my diet. I'm going ghost!"

With his classic battle cry, Danny transformed into his ghost form and then shot forward into sky. Only this escape attempt epically failed when he slammed full-force into a green energy dome surrounding the whole arena.

"_Ooh_, flying upward out of the arena. No one's tried _tha_t before," Lanista said sarcastically. "If you plan to escape, you'll have to do better."

"A ghost shield?" Danny said in confusion. He frowned and glared at Lanista. "Julius Caesar down there must've built it to keep his talent from escaping. Just my luck."

To add on his luck, a cord (from the bolas) shot up and wrapped around his waist. Courtesy of a sharp tug from Lobelia, Danny was sent hurtling to ground and face-planted the arena floor.

"Face me, Phantom!" Lobelia shrieked.

Danny got up (ignoring the face pun) and sighed. "Looks like the only way out of this to fight her." He paused. "Huh. There's a pointless fight and it's goaded on by people who find it entertaining. Just like high school."

At this point, Danny stopped talking to himself and started paying attention, for he narrowly dodged being stabbed by Lobelia's blade.

"Whoa! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to run with sharp objects?" Danny shouted at her.

She slashed again as he ducked. "Stop talking and fight me!"

"Hey, don't I get a weapon?" Danny protested. On cue, somebody threw him a glowing trident. "This'll work."

Thinking quickly, Danny caught Lobelia's blade between the points of his trident. With a twist, he wretched the blade from her hands and sent it flying halfway across the stadium. The audience gasped in shock. Lobelia stared at her empty hands in disbelief. Even Lanista looked surprised.

"No one has ever been able to disarm Lobelia," Lanista said in awe. "This boy gets more amazing by the second!"

Lobelia growled and then vaulted herself over Danny's head. Once she landed, she picked up her sword. With a loud cry, she ran at Danny, meaning to run him through. Danny blocked her attack with his trident, and soon the two were at a stand off.

"You have good moves," Lobelia said, impressed. "If I didn't have to annihilate you, I'd like to see what... _other_ moves you have."

With that, she knocked Danny's trident from his hands and kicked him in the stomach, sending him tumbling for several feet.

"Great," Danny grunted. "A girl flirts with me under her own free will, and it's because she wants to run me through with her sword!"

Lobelia stalked slowly up to him, dragging her sword through the dirt. Once she reached the fallen ghost boy, she lifted her sword and pressed a button on its hilt. "Ready for that extra iron in your diet, ghost child?"

Danny was panicking, not sure what to do. He decided to let his instincts take over and hope for the best. With one fluid motion that was a bit similar to a break-dancing move, he kicked Lobelia's legs out from under her, sending her crashing ground and allowing him to catch her sword on the rebound.

Before she even had a chance to get back up, Danny pointed the blade at her extremely shocked and irritated face.

"Don't even think about it," he said triumphantly.

"Lanista will now decide the fate of the loser!" a trumpeter announced.

Lanista stood up and stuck out his thumb, making it level with the ground. After a moment of thinking, he gave a thumbs down. Lobelia gulped.

"Lanista has decided that the loser will be ended!" the trumpeter announced.

"Ended?" Danny asked in confusion. "Is that really necessary?"

"Does it bother you?" Lanista asked.

"Yes, it kinda does."

"Then it's necessary."

Danny rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to do anyway? She's a ghost!"

Lanista sighed, as if answering this inconvenienced him. "I suppose I'd have to explain this at _some_ point. You see the ghost shield?"

Danny nodded.

"Well, when I first built it, it was hard to find a suitable power source for it. But then I realized the ectoplasmic energy from ghosts was in endless supply. Press the button on the hilt of the sword, and thrust it into Lobelia. It will transport her to the power core, and her essence will fuel my ghost shield for all eternity."

Danny looked at Lanista, then looked at Lobelia. Her helmet had been knocked off in the fight, and for the first time, Danny realized that she was surprisingly young. She couldn't have been much older than Jazz when she became a ghost.

Danny had made up his mind. He tossed aside the sword and helped Lobelia back up. The audience gasped.

"What are you doing?" Lanista said, furious.

"I'm not going to fight for the entertainment of a man in a dress," Danny said.

Apparently, the 'dress' comment really stuck in Lanista's craw. "IT'S NOT A DRESS! IT'S A TOGA!"

(Judging by his reaction, Danny could tell this had been mentioned before.)

"That was a stupid move," Lobelia said to Danny, referring to how he helped her. (Or the dress thing. You decide.)

"I'm famous for those," Danny retorted.

Lanista did not appreciate being ignored. "You fight in _my_ arena, you follow _my_ rules. Finish her! I'll make you, if I have to!"

"Ha! You and what army?" Danny shouted.

Lanista, having an enraged look on his face, snapped his fingers. In two seconds flat, Danny and Lobelia were surrounded by an army of ghosts in Roman armor.

"I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Danny asked.

"Oh, you think?" Lobelia replied sarcastically

Lanista flew down from his balcony and landed on the ground. "Hold them."

Two guards grabbed Danny and Lobelia from behind, forcing their arms behind their backs and making them kneel.

Lanista turned his focus to Danny. "I was going to let you live out you days here under your own free will, basking in the glory of the arena. But you just_ had_ to be difficult!"

"What can I say? I have little respect for men in dresses," Danny said smugly.

"It _doe_s look a little like a dress, doesn't it?" Lobelia added in realization.

"IT'S A TOGA!" Lanista shouted.

"Whatever. You can't force me be a gladiator, Lanista," Danny said.

Lanista smiled. "I beg to differ, Phantom."

With an evil grin, Lanista pulled some sort of metal collar out of his robes. "I've always wanted to use this."

_(Scene fades out on Danny staring worriedly at the collar.)_

* * *

"... And the next thing I know, I'm getting blasted and Danny is being electrocuted. I don't remember much after that," Jazz finished explaining.

After Jazz had woken, Sam asked her to hold the explanation so that they could tell her parents that she was awake. Much hugging later, Jack and Maddie gone out to look for Danny. Once they left, Sam and Tucker took Jazz down to the kitchen and listened to her story.

"Think Jazz," Sam said. "Did you at least get a good look at who took Danny?"

"Since I was on the verge of unconsciousness, I could barely _see_ at all," Jazz pointed out. "But I did hear one them call Danny some sort of 'prize'..."

"Prize?" Tucker realized. "It must've been Skulker!"

"Skulker actually succeeded in hunting something?" Sam said. "Now I've seen everything."

"At least we have an idea on where Danny is," Tucker said. "To the Specter Speeder!"

He ran off in a random direction. Sam and Jazz waited for him to come back. And sure enough, he did.

"The lab's that way, isn't it?" he asked.

Sam and Jazz both nodded.

He ran in the opposite direction, and Sam and Jazz followed. Once in the lab, Sam and Tucker began to prep the Specter Speeder.

"Are you I can't go with you guys?" Jazz asked.

"Positive. You're still way too hurt to be any help," Sam said.

"We'll go to Skulker's island, get Danny, and be back before your parents come home," Tucker said, hitting keys on the Speeder's console. "Piece of cake."

Jazz opened the ghost portal, and Specter Speeder zoomed through it.

"Good luck, you guys," Jazz said to the absent teens. "I really hope you find Danny."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have Danny!" Sam and Tucker shouted in unison.

They had arrived at Skulker's island, and had made a disturbing discovery.

Skulker was floating in front of the Speeder, wearing a blanket around his body and had a thermometer in his mouth. He sniffed and said, "I hab'nt seen the ghod child since he turned me inta an iceberd. And thanks to him, I hab a code! Ghods don't eben get codes!"

"Well, looks like we're back to square one," Tucker said gloomily.

"Hey, don't get all gloomy. That's my job," Sam scolded him. "If Skulker didn't take Danny, then who did?"

"It mighd've been Lanista," Skulker suggested.

"Who's Lanista?" Sam asked.

"Lanista odes an areda in the Ghode Zone. He sobetibes captures other ghodes to be hid gladiators," Skulker replied. "Hed the one who thawed me out. But he odly did that to ask me about your frienb."

"You're saying that this Lanista guy took Danny to be one of his gladiators?" Sam said.

Skulker nodded. "Mode likely."

"Why are you helping us?" Tucker asked, suspicious.

"Becaud I'b sworn to hund and skin the ghode child myself. I can'd do that if heb Lanista's gladiator," Skulker replied, as if the answer was obvious.

"Uh, thanks?" Tucker said uneasily.

"At least we know where Danny is now," Sam said. "Let's go!"

They flew away from Skulker's island, and began their search for the Ghost Coliseum.

* * *

"Man, we've been at this for hours," Tucker complained. "We've seen a Ghost Pyramid, a Ghost Eiffel Tower, and pretty a ghost equivalent for every other wonder of the world. How hard can it be to find a Ghost Coliseum?"

"I'm tired too, but we have to find Danny," Sam said. "I'm sure we'll reach the Coliseum soon."

Then, as if on cue, a voice piped up, "You folks lookin' for the Coliseum?"

A ghost who looked like a street hawker had flown up to the Speeder. "I usually don't deal with humans, but customers are customers."

He slapped a flyer on the windshield and went flying off.

"'Come to the Ghost Coliseum, and see the battle of the ages,'" Sam read aloud. "Hey, it gives a location!"

"Way ahead of you," Tucker said, typing in the coordinates.

A few minutes later, they found the Coliseum. Holes in the Ghost Shield allowed ghosts to enter.

"A ghost shield? In the Ghost Zone?" Tucker said. "Lanista must be really paranoid. Good thing we're not ghosts."

The Specter Speeder passed through the shield with no trouble at all. They landed and snuck into the stadium.

"Now, where would Danny be?" Sam said as she and Tucker hid in the uppermost rows of the Coliseum.

Down in gladiator pit, a huge muscled ghost gladiator was fighting somebody much smaller than him.

"I don't know, but as long as we're here, we might as well watch some good old-fashioned violence," Tucker said, turning his attention to the fight.

"Leave it to a boy to want to watch pointless fighting," Sam grumbled. But she too turned her focus to the fight, paying particular attention to the smaller gladiator.

The smaller gladiator wore black pants tucked into knee-high metal boots, and an elbow-length metal gauntlet with clawed fingers on his left hand. The right hand had a simple black fingerless glove. On both shoulders were spiked metal shoulder pads, with straps criss-crossing his bare chest. Around his neck was iron collar with a bright red stone, and on his head was a helmet that shadowed his face. He fought with a sword.

The bigger gladiator was fighting with a huge hammer, was about to bring it down on the smaller guy's head. But the smaller one simply smiled fire a ghost ray, sending the other guy flying. He ran over to where he landed, and pointed the sword at the base of his neck.

"Lanista will now decide the loser's fate," a trumpeter announced.

Sam and Tucker turned their heads to get a good look at Lanista, and were surprised to see he was a scrawny little man.

Lanista gave a thumbs down. The winning gladiator joyfully thrust the sword into the loser's chest, and the loser disappeared with an agonized scream.

"Where'd the loser go?" Tucker wondered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a round of applause for our champion!" Lanista shouted.

The winner slowly removed his helmet. Sam and Tucker both gave a gasp.

"Our champion, the one and only Danny Phantom!"

Danny raised his sword into the air, exciting the audience with his victory. His usually bright green eyes were now a dull red color. The smile on his face could only be described as sadistically smug.

"I don't believe it," Tucker said in shock.

"That Danny has become a blood-thirsty gladiator?" Sam asked. "I can't believe it either."

"No, not that!" Tucker said. He pointed at Danny's chest. "Danny has a birthmark that's shaped like Florida. Who knew?"

Sam slapped her forehead.

**Oh no! Danny has turned into a ruthless warrior! How will this end? See the next chapter for the thrilling conclusion.****  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, not me. If I owned it, I wouldn't have stopped after just 3 seasons!**

Sam and Tucker ran as fast as they could back to the Specter Speeder. They needed to regroup and rethink their plan. (Not that they had a plan to begin with, but you get the idea.)

"Okay, let's look at the facts," Tucker said. "We came here to search for Danny, but when we find him, he's a ruthless gladiator. Guess the only thing left to do is make a run for it."

Sam whacked him upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"We're not abandoning Danny!" Sam said. "He's our friend! Besides, if we leave him behind, Jazz will wring both our necks."

"Good point," Tucker agreed.

"Now, we need to sneak in there. They usually kept barracks under the arena. It was place for the gladiators to prepare before a fight. I'd bet my inheritance that's where they're keeping Danny."

"How big is your inheritance?" Tucker asked. Sam glared at him. "What? Anyway, how do you know some much about Roman stadiums?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Unlike you, I stay awake during history."

A few minutes later, they came up to the southern wall of the Coliseum and phased their way in.

"I am seriously loving the whole 'humans are the ghosts in the Ghost Zone' rule," Tucker said.

They walked for several feet, then phased through the floor. The two found themselves in a dark room. So dark, that if this was a real cartoon, the only thing we could see would be their eyes.

"You know, for a guy who self-indulged on a huge stadium, you'd think he'd be able to afford interior lighting," Sam said.

"Tell me about it! I can't even see my hand!" Tucker agreed. "Hold on, there's a flashlight on my PDA."

While Sam waited, she heard a growling noise.

"Tuck? Please tell me that was your stomach."

Tucker didn't hear her. "Okay, turning on the flash light."

The room filled with a bright light, and they could see it wasn't a room. It was cage, and they weren't alone.

"GHOST LION!" Sam shouted, and to Tucker, that seemed a little obvious at this point.

They quickly phased through the bars of the cage and ran down the hall, and just in time too. The lion slammed into the cage door, trying to get his escaped meal.

"What... is it... with... Romans... and lions?" Tucker said, gasping for breath. They were now in a hall lit with green torches.

"Don't... ghosts... glow?" said Sam, also gasping. "How did we not notice?"

"Hey, what're you doing down here?"

Sam and Tucker turned to see several guards in Roman armor.

"Uh... we're looking for the bathroom?" Tucker said uneasily.

The guards looked at each other, then pointed their spears at them.

"Run?" Tucker suggested.

"Run," Sam agreed.

On cue, they screamed loudly and charged forward, phasing through the guards.

"They're humans!" one guard shouted. "Stop them!"

Sam and Tucker continued to run.

"I think we lost them!" Tucker said.

As soon as he said that, two gold belts shot out of nowhere. One belt snapped around Sam's waist, the other around Tucker's. The two glowed for a moment, then the glow morphed into the white aura most ghosts had.

"What are these things?" Sam shouted. She tugged at the belt. "It won't come off!"

"I like bling as much as the next guy, but this is ridiculous!" Tucker added, also tugging at the belt.

The guards caught up with them. "The belts are secured on them. Grab them!"

The guards did so.

"Wait, they can touch us?" Sam said. "They shouldn't be able to touch us!"

"You're in Lanista's arena," one guard sneered, holding two electrically charged staffs. "You play by his rules."

He jabbed the staffs into their chests, knocking them out.

* * *

Sam opened her eyes and found herself lying on a cold floor. Tucker was lying next to her, unconscious. They were in some sort of dungeon.

She nudged Tucker. "Tucker? Hey Tucker, wake up!"

Tucker snapped awake. "Chocolate star!"

Sam gave him a weird look. "Star and the chocolate milk dream again?"

Tucker nodded. "You know it. Moving on. Did we get captured, or did I dream that too?"

"No, that was real," Sam assured him. "What I don't get is how they were able to touch us. Humans are ghosts in the Ghost Zone, right?"

"Usually. But not as long as you wear those belts."

Sam and Tucker yelped in surprise. They turned to a figure sitting in the shadows. The figure stepped out into the light, revealing to be Lobelia.

"The belts make the whole 'humans are the ghosts' rule null and void," Lobelia explained.

"Who are you?" Sam asked.

"And better yet, are you single?" Tucker added. (What? For a ghost, Lobelia was kinda pretty.) Sam elbowed him in the stomach.

"I am Lobelia, Lanista's greatest warrior and gladiator," Lobelia replied. Then she gained a bitter-sounding voice. "Or at least I _was_, until he replaced me with that ghost whelp and threw me down here to rot with the rest of the trash!"

Sam and Tucker narrowed their eyes.

"Err, no offence," Lobelia added in a rush.

"The ghost whelp?" Sam suddenly realized. "You mean Danny? What happened to him? Why isn't he trying to escape?"

Lobelia sighed and sat back down. "When Danny Phantom was first brought here, Lanista pitted him against me. I lost, but he refused to finish me off when Lanista ordered it."

(_The next scene is a flashback. It's back when Lanista first took out the collar._)

"Lanista wanted a gladiator who would not hesitate, so he placed the Collar of Mars around Danny Phantom's neck," Lobelia voiced over.

(_Lanista places the collar around Danny's neck. The collar glows and sends a red charge through his body. Even though the flashback has no sound, it's easy to see that Danny is screaming in pain. Lobelia looks away. Danny stops screaming, and opens his eyes. They are now red, and he smiles in a sinister manner. End flashback._)

"When the Collar of Mars is worn, it removes all feelings of kindness and compassion within the wearer," Lobelia explained. "They become war-like, living only for the glory of the arena. Once the ghost boy had been changed, Lanista threw me down here."

"I haven't even met this guy yet, and I already hate his guts," Sam said.

"You _should_ hate his guts. I know I do. Lanista is obsessed with his sport," Lobelia said. "In life, he was a famous gladiator. He defeated every opponent thrown at him. A few more fights, and he might have even gained his freedom. But one day a lion got out of its cage... well, the rest is ancient history."

"So, what is he gonna do with us?" Tucker asked.

"Knowing him?" Lobelia said. "If he doesn't feed you to the lions, he'll probably make you fight in the arena. It's been awhile since somebody actually died in his gladiator fights."

Now Sam and Tucker looked more worried.

After a few minutes of silence, Sam asked, "Lobelia, if you hate Lanista this much, why'd you stick with him until now?"

Lobelia shrugged. "I don't know. Sense of loyalty? But now I see I was a fool. He's a selfish, idiotic, and only showers every other month. I've captured so many innocent ghosts under his command! I've sacrificed so much!"

"Does that involve how you lost your eye?" Tucker asked.

Lobelia stopped ranting and pointed at her eyepatch. "What, this? No, this happened back when I was first learning how to use a spear. You have to be careful where you point those things."

"I bet," Sam agreed. "So now what? We just wait for Lanista to come and send us to our doom?"

"In a depressing nutshell, yes."

Sam slouched against a wall. "Swell."

"Dying in fight against somebody stronger than me, with a group people watching it as entertainment," Tucker pondered aloud. "Somehow I knew this would be how I would go. Only I always figured it would happen at school."

Later, in the arena, the stands were more packed than usual. Word had gotten around that humans would fighting in the next match, so ghosts from all over had flocked the Coliseum.

Lanista stepped out on the balcony, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our special guests; two human teenagers!"

The platform brought Sam and Tucker into the pit. The chains on their bodies fell away.

"These two will face impossible odds! Will they survive a battle with my greatest warrior?" Lanista said, riling up the crowd. He chuckled. "Unlikely."

Two guards brought them weapons. One gave Sam a mace and a net, while the other gave Tucker a spear and a shield (a heavy one, considering the moment he took it, he fell over).

"Who do you think he'll make us fight?" Tucker asked Sam.

A gate on the other end of the pit slid up, and who stepped out made the crowd roar.

Sam grimaced. "Survey says; the guy we originally came here to save."

Danny gave his former friends a brutish smile. He unsheathed his sword and pointed at them. "I don't know if you planned on winning, but this will be a short fight."

* * *

The three kids met up at the center of the gladiator pit.

"Danny! It's us, Sam and Tucker, your friends!" Sam pleaded. "Do you really want to hurt us?"

Danny's wavered for a second, his eyes looking a little greener. But they immediately returned to red. "I'm sorry, but I do not know of any Sam or Tucker! All I know see are two humans who will face a bitter end by the cold steel of my blade!"

"Yikes, he must be under mind control," Tucker groaned. "Danny was never this corny, even on a bad day."

"Are we ready?" Lanista said chipperly. When Sam and Tucker shook their heads, he said, "Splendid! The match can now begin!"

As soon as he said that, Danny grabbed Sam by the ponytail and threw her behind him.

"I will slay the male human first," Danny announced. "He seems the weakest and most infirm of the two."

"Hey!" Tucker protested. "I resent that!"

Realizing that Danny actually met to waste him,Tucker proceeded to run for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Danny just snickered. "They always run."

Danny ahead of Tucker, heading him off. Tucker aimed his spear at him, but Danny fired a ghost ray from his finger, snapping it in half.

"Uh, best two out of three?" Tucker asked hopefully.

Danny just smiled and readied his sword. Sam ran up behind him suddenly, tossing her net over him. Her muscles straining, she managed to swing and throw him.

"Ow!" Sam winced. "I think I popped my shoulder."

Danny curled into a ball and released a pulse of energy, shredding the net. He stood up. "Very clever. But I will not be defeated so easily!"

Tucker spun around around, and threw his shield.

Danny dodged it. "Ha! That was a pathetic maneuver! A shield is for defense, not offe-ACK!"

The 'ACK' came from the fact that the shield had ricocheted off a wall and knocked Danny in the head. The audience roared with laughter.

"Nice move," Sam commented, impressed.

"Thanks," Tucker said. "I saw it in a movie once."

Danny got back up, his eyes now solid red in anger. "That... was... unwise."

He tossed aside his sword aside and placed his palms together. Between them, a huge ball of crackly green energy formed. He stuck his hands out in front of him, and fired a giant ghost ray.

Sam and Tucker jumped out of the way, barely avoiding getting roasted. The ray hit the stands, sending several ghosts flying.

"Phantom, could you try not blasting the customers?" Lanista scolded. "It's bad for business."

Danny flew into the air, did a loop, then sped at his former friends. He grabbed Sam, spun her by the legs, then let go, sending her crashing into a pile of broken weapons.

"Sam!" Tucker shouted. But before he could run over and help her, Danny picked him up by the shirt, threw him on the ground, and placed his foot on his chest.

"Now, to deal with you," Danny said, charging his hand.

Sam scrambled out the pile. "Oh no, Danny's gonna waste Tucker! There's gotta be something I can do!"

That was when she noticed a scythe in the pile. She looked at Danny's collar, then back at the scythe.

"Oh. Duh," she realized.

She picked up the scythe and ran towards Danny. Just as Danny prepared to waste Tucker, Sam swung the scythe.

"NO!" Lanista shouted.

In one clean slice, the back of the collar split and fell off Danny's neck.

"Danny?" Sam asked, cautious.

Danny stopped what he was doing. His red eyes faded back to green.

Danny held his aching head. "Augh... what happened?" He looked at his strange attire. "And why aren't I wearing a shirt?"

"Uh, Danny? Do you mind?" Tucker said weakly.

Danny noticed he had been standing on Tucker, and immediately stepped off.

Sam walked over and placed a comforting hand his shoulder, while Danny helped Tucker stand up.

Danny looked around, the scowled. "Wait, _now_ I remember. Lanista... the collar... did I hurt you guys?"

"Not any worse than what we got in gym," Sam assured him.

"Put it out of your mind," Tucker added. "Now, when were you gonna tell us that you had a Florida shaped birthmark? That's cool!"

Danny quickly covered the mark with his hand.

"Collar or not, you _will_ finish this match!" Lanista hollered, pounding his fist on the balcony railing.

The crowd screeched in agreement.

Danny dropped his hand and glared at Lanista. "How about instead making me fight my best friends, I fight you instead?"

The crowd gasped and chattered in confusion.

"Uh, Danny?" Tucker whispered. "What're you doing?"

"It's going to be a distraction," Danny whispered back. "You guys met Lobelia?"

They nodded.

"While I fight Lanista, go free her and find the ghost shield's main power source. Disable it, so the shield shuts down and all the prisoners can escape. Think you can do that?"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, then nodded again. They proceeded to edge away.

Danny turned back to Lanista. "So how about it, Spartacus? Wanna go a round with the champ?"

Lanista bared his teeth, wanting to call his guards to kill the insolent teen on the spot. But with his audience's murmuring, he knew doing that would make him look like a coward.

Lanista took a deep breath, smoothed back his hair, and smiled. "Very well. I accept your challenge. But how about we make things a bit more interesting?"

Danny glanced to the side, watching Sam and Tucker sneak away. He needed to keep Lanista's attention, so he decided to humor him. "Depends. How 'interesting' are we talking?"

"If you win, I'll let you and your friends go free. Heck, I'll let all of my captives go free."

"And what if I lose?"

Lanista smiled more evilly, his eyes glowing red. "If you lose... you're mine."

Sam and Tucker stopped sneaking and gasped. Danny gestured for them to keep going, so they reluctantly obliged.

"You'll remain here as my gladiator, for all eternity," Lanista went on. "Do we have a deal?"

Danny had no intention of keeping such a ridiculous deal, but he couldn't let Lanista know that.

"I need to buy Tuck and Sam time," he muttered to himself. To Lanista, he said, "Okay, sounds like a deal."

"Excellent!" Lanista said. He waved his hand over the arena, and the ghost shield temporarily disappeared. The audience scattered, along with the many guards. Once they were all gone, the ghost shield reappeared. "Hope you don't mind, but I'd prefer this to be a private battle."

"What, you don't want witnesses for when I kick your butt?" Danny taunted.

"Whoever said that you'd be doing the butt-kicking?"

Lanista's whole body began to glow. His frail body expanded into huge muscles, ripping apart his toga and revealing Roman armor underneath. His ugly teeth grew into sharp canines, and he began to grow in height. A weird fish-like helmet appeared over his head, in his hands came a giant sword and shield.

Lanista had become a 50-foot tall retiarius. **(For those of you who don't know what a retiarius is, Google it.)**

Danny stared in absolute awe.

"ANY LAST WORDS, WHELP?" Lanista boomed.

"Yeah. I think I finally understand why this place doesn't have a roof."

* * *

"What happened to all the guards?" Tucker asked as he and Sam ran toward Lobelia's cell.

"You're complaining?" Sam asked.

"Good point."

After running a little further, they came upon a wooden door with a slot in it.

Sam opened the slot. "Lobelia, are you in there?"

"Sam? Is that you?" Lobelia's voice replied.

"Yeah. Danny's fighting Lanista, and we're getting you out of here," Sam said. "Is there a key for the door?"

"The guard had it."

"And the guard is gone," Tucker groaned. "Now what?"

Sam sliced the lock off with the scythe from earlier. (Where she had been keeping it, Tucker did not want to know.)

Lobelia rushed out of her cell. "Does Danny require assistance?"

"He'll be fine. We already have our marching orders," replied Sam, tossing away the scythe.

"Lobelia, how would you like to help us bring down the ghost shield and ruin Lanista's day?" Tucker asked.

Lobelia paused, then smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

Danny crashed into the empty stands, due to being thrown by Lanista.

"You know, somehow I thought fighting him would be easier than this," Danny groaned as he struggled to stand up. "At this rate, I'll lose and have to be his personal pit monkey forever."

"DONE ALREADY?" Lanista boasted. "I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"

Danny got back and flew as fast he could toward Lanista's head. At the speed he was going, the punch he threw caused Lanista to topple over, partially crashing into the ghost shield.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Danny proclaimed.

Lanista whacked Danny with his shield, sending_ him_ flying into the ghost shield.

"YES, BUT THE SMALLER THEY ARE, THE QUICKER THEY ARE SQUISHED."

Danny peeled his face off the shield. "How about you just cool it!"

Danny's eyes glowed icy blue as he tapped into his ice core. He blasted ice from his hand, covering Lanista's whole body.

Danny panted and wiped his forehead. "I don't know if it's art, but I like it anyway."

He turned to go help Sam and Tucker, when he heard a cracking noise.

Lanista broke from the ice, extremely angry.

"Oh, come on!" Danny shouted.

Lanista brought his sword down on Danny. If Danny had not quickly split into two people, he would've been sliced like deli meat.

Danny became one person again. "Hey! Watch where you swing that!"

"SURE! HOW ABOUT FROM NOW ON, I TRY TO ENSLAVE YOU IN A LESS VIOLENT MANNER?"

"Thank you!" It took Danny about five seconds to realize what he said. "No, wait, I mean-"

Lanista lifted the visor of his helmet, and shot two ghost rays from his eyes. Danny barely had time summon a shield to protect himself.

"Sam... Tucker... hurry up...", Danny said to himself, struggling to keep his shield up.

* * *

"The shield's generator is right down this hall!" Lobelia exclaimed.

They ran down the hall and came to a huge room.

"Whoa!" Sam and Tucker shouted in awe.

The generator itself was nothing special. It looked like a bigger version of what the Fenton's had. The power source was the impressive thing. It was a giant glass ball, filled to the brim with ghosts, who swirled around within its confines.

"Whenever a gladiator is given the thumbs down, they are transported to the generator, and serve as a power source for all eternity," Lobelia explained.

"This is horrible," Sam said. "We've got to free them!"

Tucker looked at the generator's controls. "This is pretty advanced stuff. Did Lanista build this?"

"He's smart, but he's not_ that_ smart," Lobelia replied. "He got it from an extremely annoying ghost who kept shouting his name and plans into the sky."

Tucker realized she was talking about Technus, but decided not to pursue the subject further. "Okay, I think I can shut it down with my PDA. Lobelia, how does this thing operate?"

"How the heck should I know?"

"You worked here!"

"I'm from the Roman Empire! The most advanced technology we had back then was indoor plumbing!"

"Tucker, you'll just have to try," Sam said, ending the arguement.

Tucker sighed, plugged his PDA into the generator, and got to work.

* * *

Danny fired ghost ray after ghost ray, but Lanista just kept holding up his gigantic shield.

Danny stared at the shield (the ghost shield, not the huge one Lanista was carrying). "What's taking so long?"

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Sam shouted at Tucker.

"This thing has a thousand encryption codes," Tucker explained. "This could take awhile!"

"We don't have 'awhile'! Danny is getting thrashed up there! Couldn't we just smash the glass dome?"

"Sam, it's not that simple!"

"Actually, it _is_ that simple," Lobelia interrupted.

Sam and Tucker gave her a weird look and said, "What?"

"The glass is meant to keep the ghosts in, but it's completely vulnerable from the outside. A good hit with something heavy and it'll shatter."

There was a pause, and Tucker said, "You love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?"

"Let's go get that mace I had earlier and smash this sucker!" Sam shouted excitedly.

"I like you, Sam," Lobelia stated, placing a hand proudly on Sam's shoulder. "You would've made a great gladiator."

"Uh, thanks?"

* * *

Danny had resorted to repeatedly hitting Lanista, one punch after another. After a minute, he actually managed to knock his helmet off.

"Yes!" Danny shouted.

Lanista prepared to do the eye-laser thing again.

"No!" Danny shouted.

This time, the lasers found their mark.

* * *

Lobelia whacked the glass repeatedly with a mace.

"Don't pause between swings!" Tucker said. "You'll get maximum damage that way!"

"Don't tell me how to do my job!" Lobelia shouted back.

Lobelia gave one last mighty swing, and the glass shattered.

* * *

Lanista picked up a barely conscious Danny in his giant hand.

"LOOKS LIKE I WIN, WHELP."

All of a sudden, they both heard a weird fizzling sound. That was the sound of the ghost shield dissipating.

"WHAT? NO, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Think again, Marc Antony."

Danny released a pulse of ecto-energy, making Lanista let go. He flew upward, and got right in Lanista's face.

"My friends just deactivated your shield," he said. "Which means I now have some elbow room to do _this_!"

He took a deep breath, and heck broke loose.

"**_HOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLL_**!"

Danny's ghostly wail ripped through the Coliseum, sending it toppling to the ground. It caused Lanista to fall over, and most of the arena fell on him, burying him.

He kept the wail going for another few seconds, until he finally had to stop to rest. His weakened state caused his hair and eyes to return to normal color, but Danny quickly switched them back to their ghost colors.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Lanista dug his way out of the rubble. He was now back in his scrawny , yet now currently beat up, form.

"That... little... brat," Lanista growled, dusting himself off. "When I get my hands on him, I'll-"

"You'll what?"

Lanista turned to see Lobelia, Sam, Tucker, and an army of angry looking gladiators.

"Oh, Lobelia!" Lanista said fake-cheerfully, acting all buddy-buddy. "How nice it is to see you! You're not still mad about me throwing you in the dungeon, are you?"

Danny landed next to Lobelia and his friends. Together, they all crossed their arms as the other gladiators began to gang up on Lanista.

Lanista looked more nervous, but kept up the fake cheer. "Gentlemen, gentlemen! Is this really necessary?"

"Does it bother you?" Lobelia asked.

"Yes, it kind of does," Lanista replied.

"Then it's necessary," Danny said.

Lobelia and Danny then pointed at Lanista, shouting in unison, "Get him!"

Lanista screamed and flew into the sky, an entire army of angry gladiators chasing after him.

The group watched as the chase flew out of sight.

"How long do you think they'll be chasing him?" Danny asked.

"It's a big Ghost Zone. Probably forever," Lobelia replied.

"Now that the crisis has passed, let's move on to more important matters," Tucker said. He turned toward Danny. "Dude, put on a shirt."

Danny looked at himself, then covered his chest in embarrassment. Everyone laughed.

* * *

A little while later, Danny and his friends were standing by the Specter Speeder. Danny was back in his usual ghost outfit, while Sam and Tucker had lost their stupid belts.

"Looks like we're ready to go," Sam said. "Goodbye, and good riddance."

Danny smirked in agreement, then flew over to Lobelia, who was surveying the wreckage.

"The Coliseum in the human world survives wars and battles for 2000 years, while the one here is destroyed in 2 minutes by a teenager," Lobelia said.

Danny shrugged. "I'm... sorry?"

Lanista just smiled and turned to face him. "Don't worry about it. And as long as we're apologizing, I'm sorry I kidnapped you and hurt your sister."

"Apology accepted," Danny said. "See you around?"

"I certainly hope so," Lobelia said. "You are a great warrior, Danny Phantom. I look forward to fighting once again by your side."

On that note, Danny returned to the Specter Speeder, and he and his friends sped away.

* * *

"And that's how you pin a weaker opponent," Tetslaff declared, practically crushing Danny.

It was a couple days later. Danny was finally getting his education in wrestling, whether he wanted it or not.

Danny got up and staggered over to his friends.

"This is cruel and unusual," Sam said, looking Danny over.

"Well, I skipped two days of PE, so my punishment is being Tetslaff's practice dummy," Danny replied. "And I kinda deserve it. I shouldn't have abandoned you guys in the first place that day. Are we cool?"

They paused they smiled and said, "We're cool."

"So anyway, what did you tell your parents about the whole kidnapped thing?" Tucker asked.

"I told the truth. I said I was kidnapped by a ghost. Only then I said that it let me go when I told it that my parents were the greatest ghost hunters in the world."

"So you escaped punishment and inflated their egos? Nice." Tucker gave Danny a high five.

"Speaking of ghosts, do you think Lanista will come back for revenge?" Sam said. "Cause I wouldn't put it past that twerpy little freak."

Danny shook his head. "I don't think so. He'll be a bit too busy to be anymore trouble..."

* * *

Lanista swept up some rubble with a broom. "This cruel and unusual punishment!"

Lobelia was on a lounge chair, holding one of those tanning mirrors and sipping from a fruity-looking drink. "Trust me, your punishment could be a lot worse than cleaning up the entire arena. By _yourself_."

We see an aerial view, and the arena is utterly destroyed. It's clear that a clean up will take awhile.

Lanista surveys the mess, looks at his broom, then tosses it over his shoulder. "Oh, fiddle Styx!"

Unfortunately, his broom hits one of the lions, angering it. It roared and tackled Lanista.

_(Scene irises out on a cartoon fight cloud, sounds of Lanista's pain being heard.)_

**DONE! DONE DONE DONE! Hope you all enjoyed this. Stay tuned! I may have other DP storied soon.**


End file.
